Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.64 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=7 letter grades).
Spring 2027
Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography
Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography introduces ocean physics and thermodynamics, covering circulation, equations of motion, Ekman transport, Sverdrup balance, thermal wind, heat/salinity/momentum budgets, waves, and tides.
offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Hannah Zanowski
Summary
1 / 2
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.64 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=7 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Describe the general physical characteristics and properties of the ocean and the relationships between them via the thermodynamic equation of state of seawater
Write down the general equations that govern movement in the ocean including gyre circulations, the meridional overturning circulation, waves, and tides
Understand how the ocean’s physical characteristics, properties, and spatial structure arise from thermodynamics and the general equations of motion
Describe the ocean’s role in Earth’s climate and apply concepts in the course to novel situations or further research
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗ average GPA
77 letter grades
A71.4%71.4%
AB0.0%0.0%
B14.3%14.3%
BC14.3%14.3%
C0.0%0.0%
D0.0%0.0%
F0.0%0.0%
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapATM OCN 311 and (MATH 319, 320, or 376), or graduate/professional standing
- ATMOCN 311
- take one
- graduate/professional standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
- All of
- graduate/professional standing
Professors
Spring 2027Historical instructors & teaching patterns
HANNAH ZANOWSKI is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 20 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.64 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=7 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Physical characteristics and properties of the ocean and its circulation
- Basic equations of motion: Ekman transport, Sverdrup balance, thermal wind balance, heat/salinity/momentum budgets, waves, and tides
- Thermodynamic equation of state of seawater
- Ocean's role in Earth's climate
Skills
- Describe ocean physical characteristics and properties using the thermodynamic equation of state of seawater
- Formulate general equations governing ocean movement, including gyres, overturning circulation, waves, and tides
- Explain how ocean physical characteristics and spatial structure arise from thermodynamics and equations of motion
- Describe the ocean's role in Earth's climate and apply course concepts to novel situations or research
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
A71.4%71.4%
AB0.0%0.0%
B14.3%14.3%
BC14.3%14.3%
C0.0%0.0%
D0.0%0.0%
F0.0%0.0%
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
UW–Madison
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography
Recorded 2026-10-14Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
"semester": "1274",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
"offering_id": "1274:640:026886",
"course_id": "ATMOCN 460",
"course_uid": "course_861117c4e95422db13139656",
"term_id": "1274",
"source_course_id": "026886",
"source_subject_id": "640",
"title": "Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
}
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Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
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Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesDataset & model
View the dataset on Hugging Face Recorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "a40b0e0ddb71b06a1507ce4bcd73530edac50ad699b418e90544b3d906faa4bf",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}